What a bunch of idiots. Bush has not made his National Guard service an important part of his campaign. Kerry has made his Swiftboat service an important part of his campaign.
These guys spend a lot of effort barking up the wrong tree.
Nope gotta talk about Nam.
This makes the liberals look desperate. Joe Public will look at this inertly or negatively against Kerry.
This is not something that we should pretend is going to have no effect on the voters. Kerry took a beating due to the Swift Boats but with the main stream media's constant accusation that Bush and Co. had something to do with them, don't be surprised to see Bush drop in the polls after they get through with this.
BUSH:
ALLEGEDLY DID NOT SHOW UP FOR SOMETHING DURING HIS SERVICE.
KERRY:
MET WITH NORTH VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST IN TIME OF WAR
ADMITTED TO WAR CRIMES
THREW HIS OR SOMEONE ELSES METALS OR RIBBONS OR BOTH AT THE WHITE HOUSE IN PROTEST
Yeah, I'd say these issues are equivalent. Wouldn't you?
Now, how did Ben Barnes help Bush get into the guard in 1968, when he wasn't the LT governor of Texas until 1969?
Seems very odd. Just another lie by the RATs and the liberal media just plays into their hands.
The left is bent on repeating the line that "no one has ever come forward to say they saw Bush in Alabama".
No one? Really? Ok, how about ...
So, I guess NO ONE has ever said they saw Bush in Alabama. Oh, ok?
The "W" isn't just the middle initial of our next presidents, it's also for WHATEVER!
The stench of desperation emanates from the 'Rats camp. They are willing to insinuate anything, say whatever they need to, in order to get the momentum back on their side. They are willing to risk losing a libel/slander suit in order to regain power. That makes them whores for power. But we already knew that.
“Texans for Truth plans to spend $100,000 to $200,000 to run the ad for a week in closely contested states that are home to large numbers of families of US troops killed in Iraq.”
Bring it on!
I've been asking and searching--I'll ask again. Is there any online source of donors to this 527 in Austin, or a complete list of donors to any 527 anywhere?
This is where their constant denigration of the National Guard hurts them. They've been saying it's not important, now they're saying Bush didn't show up for this not important job.
Everyone agrees, though, that service in Vietnam is being on the front lines, and Kerry has made it the only issue he's running on.
This doesn't hurt Bush; the Swift Vets ads DO hurt Kerry.
Nice try, guys.
Can't these dweebs ever conjure up an original name?
related:
'Bush and I were lieutenants'
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1075896/posts
Posted on 02/11/2004 6:20:44 AM PST by Petronski
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040210-082910-8424r.htm
This tactic is not only stupid, it is breathtakingly inept!! As long as the debate rages on about military service, Kerry loses.......BIG TIME !!!
Besides, this country voted for a certified and admitted draft dodger, not once, but TWICE!! He name was Slick Willie Clinton.
Remember him???
Any idea when the Swifties will be coming out with a new ad?
bump
I don't get why these ppl are speaking out about Bush's service. It makes no sense...ppl are acting like he hasn't been IN OFFICE for the last four years!!
This timeline was taken from an anti-Bush website. I selected it because it is mostly accurate. The problem is the partial truths and the implications.
My comments are in ALL CAPS and is based on research and my own experiences and knowledge.
1.) May 28, 1968: Bush enlists as an Airman Basic in the 147th Fighter-Interceptor Group, Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas, and is selected to attend pilot training.
My comments:
THERE HAS BEEN TALK THAT BUSH WAS PUSHED TO THE TOP OF THE LIST BECAUSE OF HIS FATHER'S POLITICAL INFLUENCE. The truth is:
BUSH WAS SELECTED BECAUSE VERY FEW AIR NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS WERE WILLING TO SIGN UP FOR 2 YEARS OF ACTIVE DUTY (PILOT TRAINING) FOLLOWED BY 4 YEARS IN THE GUARD, FOR A SIX YEAR TOTAL.
2.) July 12, 1968: A three-member board of officers decides that Bush should get a direct commission as a second lieutenant after completing airman's basic training.
My comments: THIS WAS ROUTINE BECAUSE UNDERGRADUATE PILOT TRAINING (UPT) WAS ONLY AVAILABLE TO COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. THERE WAS NO AVIATION CADET PROGRAM AT THAT TIME, NOR IS THERE ONE TODAY.
3.) July 14 to August 25, 1968: Bush attends six weeks of basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
4.) September 4, 1968: Bush is commissioned a second lieutenant and takes an 8-week leave to work on a Senate campaign in Florida.
My comments:
ACTUALLY, HE WAS WAITING FOR HIS (UPT) CLASS TO BEGIN. THE LEAVE WAS UNPAID.
5.) November 25, 1968 to November 28, 1969: Bush attends and graduates from from flight school at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. (UTP Course #P-V4A-A Moody AFB, Ga. 53 weeks November 1969)
6,) January 1, 1970: 147th changes from doing Alert to training F-102 pilots.
7.) December 1969 to June 27, 1970: Bush trains full-time to be an F-102 pilot at Ellington Air Force Base.
My comments:
NOTE THAT IT TAKES SIX MONTHS TO QUALIFY ON THE F-102A AS WITH ANY OF THE 100 SERIES FIGHTERS. THEY ARE VERY DIFFICULT, UNSTABLE AND DANGEROUS TO FLY.
8.) February 1970: Bush attends Preint Pilot Training (T-33 ANG112501 FIVE WEEKS)
9.) July 1970 to April 16, 1972: Bush, as a certified fighter pilot, attends frequent drills and alerts at Ellington Computer records show his last Flight Physical as May 1971. Which also shows him as CR MEM ON FS (crew member on flight service) not PILOT.
My comments:
"CR MEM ON FS" ACTUALLY MEANS CREW MEMBER ON FLIGHT STATUS. IN THE "USAF", ALL FLIGHT-RATED PERSONNEL ARE REFERRED TO AS "CREW MEMBERS" WITH NO DESIGNATION "PILOT, NAVIGATOR, ETC.) THE IMPORTANT DESIGNATOR IS WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE ON FLIGHT STATUS.
10.) May 24, 1972: Bush, who has moved to Alabama to work on a US Senate race, gets permission to serve with a Reserve Unit in Alabama. But headquarters decided Bush must serve with a more active unit.
My comments:
IT MUST BE NOTED THAT THE RESERVE AND THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD ARE TWO DISTINCT ORGANIZATIONS AND DESPISE EACH OTHER. IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT THE "ANG" WOULD NOT APPROVE THE TRANSFER OF AN OFFICER TO THE RESERVE.
11.) September 5, 1972: Bush is granted permission to do his Guard duty at the 187th Tactical Recon Group in Montgomery. But Bush's records shows no evidence he did the duty, and the unit commander says he never showed up.
My comments:
SEE THE RECENTLY RELEASED BUSH PAY RECORDS. THE UNIT COMMANDER, GENERAL TURNIPSEED, NOW SAYS HE (TURNIPSEED) WAS PROBABLY NOT ON THE BASE AT THAT TIME.
12.) November 1972 to April 30, 1973: Bush returns to Houston, but apparently not to his Air Force unit.
13.) May 2, 1973: The two lieutenant colonels in charge of Bush's unit in Houston cannot rate him for the prior 12 months, saying he has not been at the unit in that period.
My comments:
THEY DIDN'T SAY "HE HAS NOT BEEN AT THE UNIT IN THAT PERIOD" THEY SAID HE HAD NOT BEEN "OBSERVED" BY THEM. THE WORD "OBSERVED" IN AN OFFICER EVALUATION HAS A SPECIFIC MEANING. IT MEANS THAT THE EVALUATING OFFICER PERSONALLY OBSERVED THE OFFICER IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTIES. THIS IS NOT SURPRISING SINCE BUSH WAS NOT IN TEXAS UNTIL NOVEMBER AND DID NOT ATTEND DRILLS IN TEXAS UNTIL APRIL 1973.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED (TERRY McAULIFFE, PAY ATTENTION) THAT THE "ANG" DOES NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRE WEEKLY ATTENDANCE, IT REQUIRES A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DAYS PER YEAR.
LT. CO. SCOTT GORSKE, A MILITARY FELLOW AT THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN WASHINGTON SAID "NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS ARE NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRED TO ATTEND A DRILL EACH MONTH, BUT RATHER TO TRAIN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME OVER A 12 -MONTH PERIOD. THIS IS WHY BUSH COULD HAVE MET HIS YEARLY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS EVEN IF THERE WERE SOME MONTHS IN WHICH HE DID NOT ATTEND A DRILL."
14.) May to July 1973: Bush, after special orders are issued for him to report for duty, logs 36 days of duty.
My comments:
ALL 'USAF' ORDERS NAMING PERSONNEL ARE CALLED "SPECIAL ORDERS". THE 36 DAYS ACTIVE DUTY BROUGHT HIM UP TO 5 DAYS MORE THAN THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE YEAR.
15.) July 30, 1973: His last day in uniform, according to his records.
16) October 1, 1973: A month after Bush starts at Harvard Business School, he is formally discharged from the Texas Air National Guard -- eight months before his six-year term expires.
My comments:
THIS WAS VERY NORMAL AT THAT TIME. THE WAR WAS WINDING DOWN AND GEORGE BUSH'S ONLY "AFSC" (AIR FORCE SPECIALTY CODE) WAS AS A 'FIGHTER-INTERCEPTOR PILOT". HE WAS QUALIFIED ONLY ON THE F-102A. LARGE-SCALE RETIREMENT OF THE F-102A FROM THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BEGAN IN LATE 1969 AND CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE 1970s. IN OCTOBER 1973, HE HAD EIGHT MONTHS REMAINING ON HIS ENLISTMENT. THE TEXAS AIR NATIONAL GUARD WAS PHASING OUT THE F-102A AND CONVERTING TO ANOTHER AIRCRAFT. THEY HAD MANY MORE F-102A PILOTS THAN THEY NEEDED AND IT MADE NO SENSE TO SHIP BUSH OFF FOR SIX MONTHS OF TRANSITION TRAINING WHEN HE HAD ONLY EIGHT MONTHS TO GO.
MY PERSONAL COMMENTS.
George Bush could have joined the ANG to avoid the draft. However, that really doesn't make a lot of sense inasmuch as he was a Yale graduate. The odds of a draftee with a degree from Yale ending up as a grunt in Vietnam were virtually nonexistent. He would have been offered OCS (with a four year commitment) or, if he wanted to serve no more than his two years, he would have been a company clerk or some other administrative job. Even the Army is that smart. Assuming he wanted to join the Air National Guard (ANG) so he could be a part-time patriot and live at home, why didn't he just sign up for four years and get it over with?
He opted for pilot training which involved a six year commitment! Think about that. Would you sign up for six years when you could get by in two years with and administrative job? Maybe, just maybe, he wanted to be a fighter pilot like his father was in World War II. Novel concept, wasn't it?
Next, the F-102 was the first supersonic all-weather fighter-interceptor. It was a beast to fly. The regular Air Force passed them on to the ANG as quickly as they could. Any pilot who willingly strapped that thing on his ass and took off gets a tip of my hat. There weren't very many people in Vietman doing anything more hazardous!
Now, about the ANG, at the time period in question, the ANG was charged with the air defense of the continental USA. The Soviet bear was still our major adversary and the ANG was the barrier to Soviet bombers. The ANG were not just weekend warriors boring holes in the sky for fun. They were flying air defense alerts.
Finally, why didn't Bush volunteer for Vietnam service? There is anecdotal evidence that he did, which may or man not be true. The real answer is that it would have done him no good. Bush was rated only as a "fighter-interceptor pilot" and qualified only on the F-102. The USAF, in Vietnam, had no, repeat, no need for fighter-interceptor pilots and had no F-102s in the theater. He was useful where he was flying air defense missions in the USA. Those of us who are veterans can all agree that we rarely, if ever, had a choice of where we would be based or what we would be doing.
Case Closed!
Bill Eikner